Zangief
"You sit there and you thump your bibles, and say your prayers, and it didn't get you anywhere! Talk about your psalms, talk about Bazza 3:16...Gief 3:16 says I just protected the Russian Skies!" __TOC__ In Real Life Zangief is a Russian wrestler from Capcom's Street Fighter series. He travels the world wrestling bears, suplexing fools, and protecting the skies of his beloved homeland. He is also known to have had a stint as a professional wrestler, during which time he teamed up and shared moves with Mike Haggar. In VGCW Zangief has had quite the history in the VGCW, with his matches and actions forming some of the major plot points of the series. Gief Screwed Gief On November 27th, a Money in the Bank match occured that sparked an incident known as "Gief Screwed Gief," which formed one of the cornerstones of the larger Little McMahon Saga storyline. Zangief faced off against JonTron, Wesker, Captain Falcon, Nappa, and finally, Little Mac. As the other competitors began to fight, Zangief instead opted to immediately go for the briefcase itself - a very rare tactic. The other wrestlers were so absorbed in their fight that they didn't even notice until it was too late that Zangief had successfully snatched the money in under 15 seconds. While the crowd applauded the spectacle, Mr. McMahon had other plans. Claiming that the match's quick conclusion was unsatisfactory and unfair, Baz announced (to much protest from the audience) a rematch to be held later that night. The rematch ended in a Little Mac victory. Fans claimed that Zangief had been "screwed" (lost due to corporate interference). Baz responded to such claims that Zangief's own tactics had forced the rematch - that "Gief screwed Gief." Zangief was seen during a later broadcast complaining to McMahon, who threw Zangief out of his office. The Feud The feud between Zangief and Mac did not end, however. Little Mac taunted and attacked Zangief backstage. A grudge match between the two saw Baz McMahon's refereeing ensuring a dirty win for Mac. Zangief ran out and ambushed Mac while the boxer was attempting to cash in the infamous briefcase for a title shot, and then later that night ran out to save Ganondorf from Mac's post-match brutalization. Russian and Gerudo teamed up to face Mac and McMahon in tag team match ending with a Gerudo Skies victory; Zangief had to be physically restrained by Ganondorf after the match to keep the Red Cyclone from seriously injuring Mac. Zangief challenged a recently dethroned Mac to a 30 Minute Inferno Iron Man match. Though he wrestled well, Mac had the edge in pins, and Zangief lost 8-4. But when it seemed that he was about to be beaten with a folding chair under Baz's orders, Mac turned face and threw the chair back in McMahon's face, instead extending a hand of friendship to Zangief who accepted. The feud was over, though Little Mac was afterwards struck by a car after the show. Other VGCW history Zangief also fought his old friend Mike Haggar on January 6th, 2013. However, the match that first aired was strange, with Haggar not fighting back. The broadcast abruptly ended with a "technical difficulties" message put up in its place. Baz claimed that the whole segment had been a "dream" of Zangief's. The rematch at first seemed to be a repeat of the "dream," but soon turned in Mike Haggar's favor. Zangief was left unconscious after being driven through Table-san. Some fans are still unconvinced that the segment was truly meant to be a dream, and believe that it was either yet another screwjob or incompetence on the federation's part. Zangief himself insists that he wasn't actually dreaming, and that he really did beat up Haggar. On the January 13th, 2013 VGCW episode, it's likely that Zangief had his back broken by JonTron's devastating bearhug. Zangief would later participate in an Elimination Chamber match, and was put in the dreaded wallet squeeze by Gabe Newell. Against all odds, Zangief managed to join the ranks of the few that have withstood Gabe's signature submission, but would later be eliminated. On 2013-01-28, Zangief was helping Ganondorf prepare for his big fight against "the undefeat turtle", Raphael. But just as the match was about to start, Ganon was attacked by Mr. L, who went to fight Raphael in his place. He went to Team Ghost Trick for help, but wasn't satisfied with their response, and went to deal with Mr. L himself. After Raphael was beaten senseless by Mr. L, Zangief, along with Raph, Ezio Auditore, and of course Ganon, beat Mr. L into submission, finally ending the masked man's rampage. Gief would go on to fight Donkey Kong to a no contest in a tables match on Febuary 1st 2013, after having a prep talk with Ganon. Due to Zangief inflicting much more damage on Donkey Kong, most people considered Zangief the victor, this decision by the fans may have been influenced by the infamous "Zangief Moonwalk Strut" that resulted from THQuality during the match. He would later be ambushed backstage by Mr. L, putting him out of commission for the rest of the night. Gallery WSJpP.gif|Zangief protecting the Russian skys! Zangief Real.png Mh3erTk.jpg|Zangiefs popular "Gief 3:16" shirt, appearing to have a printing error Synchronized.gif Giefwhiff.gif Finalatomicbuster.gif|Zangief's finisher, the Final Atomic Buster